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Alexandria is ‘Drowning’: Chaos Strikes as City Floods Again

November 4, 2015
Alexandria’s skies filled with dark clouds at sunrise. Photo: Mohamed Hakim
Alexandria’s skies filled with dark clouds at sunrise. Photo: Mohamed Hakim

Several Egyptian cities were hit with a second round of heavy rainfall and thunderstorms on Tuesday night, leaving streets flooded with rainwater due to the lack of proper drainage systems.

Three died in Beheira due to the effects of the storm; 17-year-old Amin Diab died of electric shock, 30-year-old Halima Kandil fell into an open sewage drain and Ibrahim Mokhtar, 30, died when the roof of his house collapsed from the rainfall, state media Ahram Online reported

In Alexandria, streets filled with rainwater and traffic came to a halt.

Photo: Disha Hisham
Lightning in Alexandria on Tuesday. Photo: Disha Hisham

The storm has left many streets flooded with water, slowing down traffic across the city and restricting many citizens’ movements.

Traffic came to a halt as rainwater flooded Alexandria's streets. Photo: Mohamed Hakim
Traffic came to a halt as rainwater flooded Alexandria’s streets. Photo: Mohamed Hakim
Public transportation making its way through several inches of accumulated rainwater in Alexandria. Photo: Reem Sami Abul Enain
Public transportation making its way through several inches of accumulated rainwater in Alexandria. Photo: Reem Sami Abul Enain
View of a street in Alexandria flooded with accumulated rainwater. Photo: Reem Sami Abul Enain
View of a street in Alexandria flooded with accumulated rainwater. Photo: Reem Sami Abul Enain
Alexandrian citizens try to find high ground as the rainwater floods the streets and pours over the sidewalks. Photo: Reem Sami Abul Enain
Alexandrian citizens try to find high ground as the rainwater floods the streets and pours over the sidewalks. Photo: Reem Sami Abul Enain
A woman stands on the sidewalk in front of a fruit and vegetable shop, with the rainwater flooding the streets reaching the shop's entrance. Photo: Mohamed Hakim
A woman stands on the sidewalk in front of a fruit and vegetable shop, with the rainwater flooding the streets reaching the shop’s entrance. Photo: Mohamed Hakim

 

The hashtag #Alexandria_is_drowning became Egypt’s number one trending hashtag on Wednesday, as reports of the flooding continued to circulate.

 

Screen Shot 2015-11-04 at 3.05.01 PM

 

Early last week, Alexandria was paralyzed when a rainstorm resulted in five times the normal amount of rain falling on the unprepared city. Seven citizens and a horse died from electric shock when a power cable feeding the tram line in Moharram Bey fell in the water.

 

Following these events, Hany Elmessiry resigned from his post as governor of Alexandria and reports later exonerated him from responsibility in the fatal floods.

 

Despite last week’s floods, Alexandria remained unprepared for the second round of storms. Pumping vehicles were deployed on Wednesday morning, after hours of rainfall had already caused floods all around the city, to drain water from the city’s streets.

 

CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE ALEXANDRIA FLOOD FUND CAMPAIGN

Comments (14)

  1. […] Alexandria is ‘Drowning’: Chaos Strikes as City Floods Again – Several Egyptian cities were hit with a second round of heavy rainfall and thunderstorms on Tuesday night, leaving streets flooded with rainwater due to the lack of proper drainage systems. Three died in Beheira due to the effects of the storm; 17-year … […]

  2. […] Alexandria is ‘Drowning’: Chaos Strikes as City Floods Again – Several Egyptian cities were hit with a second round of heavy rainfall and thunderstorms on Tuesday night, leaving streets flooded with rainwater due to the lack of proper drainage systems. Three died in Beheira due to the effects of the storm; 17-year … […]